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Thursday, February 10, 2011

Are you frustrated that you are having difficulty making money playing Holdem? Well these Texas Hold Em poker tips are sure to help you with that.
You can instantly increase you success at Holdem by going out and reading and learning new Texas Hold Em Poker tips. But sometimes you read things you have already heard and don't get much out of them. That's why I'm going to share with you some new tips that hopefully you haven't heard before.Texas Hold Em Poker Tips - #1 New Tip
Did you know that you are post-flop, waiting for the turn, if you just add up all your outs and multiple by four you will have an approximation of your probability of hitting those outs. This makes for quick calculations on the fly.Texas Hold Em Poker Tips - #2 New Tip
Likewise, did you know that if you are post-turn, waiting for the river, if you add up all your outs and multiple by two you will have an estimation of your likelihood of hitting your next card for the showdown.Texas Hold Em Poker Tips - #3 New Tip
Also, over time, when you are going for draws, as in you are waiting for the fifth card for a straight or flush, and everyone checks around to you, instead of checking (which is what 99% of people do) you should bet. This actually works out in your favour if you have an aggressive image, as you will make more from folds and also increase pot size when you do win.Texas Hold Em Poker Tips - #4 New Tip
Another tip that you should always be doing is to not look at your hole cards. Well, this is half true. When the cards get dealt out you should be watching all the other players first, see how they react, and then look at your own cards. This puts our focus on your opponents, which is vitally important.
I hope you enjoyed these brand new tips. Imagine how it is going to feel when you win your next pot by utilizing one of these tips. You will feel on top of the world like you are a super-smart poker player.
You are probably becoming aware of how you can utilize these tips to explode your profits and win more pots more easily. Now, if you realize how important learning new tips and information about poker is, and you truly want to become a very profitable poker player, don't ever let yourself turn down an opportunity to learn new Texas Hold Em Poker tips. Because every time you do not act to learn new information about Texas Hold Em, you will become a worse player.

When To Bet in Texas Holdem

A bet is a declaration that either:
a)"I have the best hand and I'll wager money on it" or
b)"You have a poor hand, and you will fold if you are forced to wager on it".
Typically, players are supposed to bet when they have a good hand. Players who don't have good hands are supposed to fold. Of course, if it was this simple, there would be no need for this page. You might as well wager on Tic-Tac-Toe. Most players play contrary to this idea, attempting to be a cunning or deceptive player. Don't fall into this trap when you are just learning to play.
Your betting strategy should be built upon this simple idea, but you must know when to stray and bet in situations when you otherwise wouldn't. Here are some situations you should start looking at to improve your game:

Example one: Blind-stealing

When you are in the dealer's position, and only you and the blinds are remaining in the game, a raise is often called "blind-stealing". This is because the blinds may fold, whereas if you didn't raise but simply called, the blinds would simply check. Its a good way to make a buck or two, but will never make you rich. Its more of a way to end the game fast and have a new hand dealt with more players (and more money).

Example two: The steal-raise

If you are last to act and all players have checked to you, betting to simply limit the number of players or take the pot is called a steal-raise. Don't use this exclusively, as better players will be onto you quickly and begin check-raising against your (most likely) poor hand. It is good to use a steal raise when you have an excellent drawing hand such as a nut flush draw. Players will tend to "check to the raiser". If you draw to your hand, you now have a larger pot to win. If you don't, you can always check, and hope the fifth card makes your hand.

Example three: The check-raise

Check raising is checking to your opponent, with the intention of luring them to bet, so that you can raise them back. Your intention is to lure them into a false sense of security so that you can raise them and increase the pot (remember, after one bet is committed, its more likely they'll commit to two).

Example four: The opener

This reckless move is often done by people who bluff. It is when the person first to act raises, making all other players call two bets at once. Its inteniton is to limit the number of players. Basically, this move amounts to a backwards steal-raise. The effect will almost certainly cause many players to fold, but the ones remaining will either be equally aggressive or truly have a great hand. This is also known as betting for information. This tactic is best used with few players in on the hand.

Example five: Squeezing

Squeezing is a tactic only used in a short-handed game. It's betting when you have a good hand currently, and you suspect another player or players may be on a draw. For example, you have top pair with the best kicker. Chances are they won't make their draw (be it a straight or a flush draw, etc). Your goal is to limit their pot odds.

The above examples are just really examples of bets. If you are playing no limit or pot limit holdem, the whole thinking behind betting becomes radically different. Check our page on no limit betting for more.

Preflop Strategy in Texas Holdem

Before you start betting like a madman when you get two eights in the pocket, you need to carefully consider all factors involved in solid preflop strategy.
The factors to consider are the number of players, how aggressive/passive the players at the table are, your bankroll, your position, and how much risk you are willing to entail.Number of players: With 10 people in the game, it's much more likely that someone else has a strong hand in the pocket than in a short-handed game. Also, you'll need to be more cautious in larger games, as the chances of someone's preflop hand fitting the flop will be much better. More competition means stiffer competition.How aggressive the players are: Assuming you've been playing with a few people for several hands, and you noticed some jackass is raising every hand preflop, you'll want to play tighter. Let the guy win the blinds (big deal) and nail him to the wall when you have a solid hand in the pocket preflop.Your bankroll: If you have $2 left, you'll want to play extremely carefully and select one hand to bet on, hoping to get as many players involved as possible for a larger pot. You'll want to be all-in before the flop is dealt. On the flip-side, if you have $1000 at a $1/$2 table, you can take the high-risk, high-payout bets.Your position: People in late position have the ability to influence the size of the pot much more than those in early position. This is especially true preflop. (see our page on position for more info)

Your tolerance for risk: Depending on your playing style, you may want to play more or less aggressively preflop. Players who shoot for larger pots, but don't mind a greater chance for losing a few hands will want to raise preflop, especially if they are in late position. Some players prefer to be as selective as possible preflop, grinding out a winning hand here or there. It really depends on your own style of play, and how you perceive the players around you.
You might also want to consider what cards you have in your hand. Naturally, AA is the best to start with. It helps if your hand is suited or if the cards are sequential in rank like a Seven and an Eight ("connected"). It's important to understand how your two cards hold up against other combinations of cards though. I good discussion of preflop hands can be found on our preflop hand comparison page. For specific statistics on how your two specific cards interact with the flop, try our preflop calculator.

So you're new to Texas Holdem poker? Not a problem. Texas Holdem poker is by far the best game for a beginner to learn. Other poker games like Omaha or 7 card stud need a higher understanding of calculating odds and card counting. Texas Holdem can be learned in a few minutes and you can be playing fairly well with a few hours of practice. However, in order to learn the game you must play and you must play fairly often.
Online poker rooms offer a wide variety of play money tables where beginners may practice for free until they are ready to move up to the fun at real money tables. We recommend playing online to start because online poker rooms handle many tedious details, like dealing, shuffling, and determining who has the best hand.
A Texas Hold'em poker game goes as follows:

Each player is dealt two private cards face down. These are called your hole cards or pocket cards.

Then there is a round of betting starting with the player to the left of the blinds. This is the preflop betting round. Like most games of poker, players can call, raise, or fold.

After the betting round ends, the dealer discards the top card of the deck. This is called a burn card. This is done to prevent cheating.

The dealer then flips the next three cards face up on the table. This is called the flop. These are communal cards that anyone can use in combination with their two pocket cards to form a poker hand.

The player to the left of the dealer starts another betting round.

After the betting concludes, the dealer burns again then flips another communal card onto the table. This is called the turn.

The player to the left of the dealer begins another round of betting. In many types of games, this is where the bet size doubles.

Again, the dealer burns a card and places a final card face up on the table. This is called the river. Players can now use any of the five cards on the table or the two cards in their pocket to form a five card poker hand.

There is one final round of betting starting with the player to the left of the dealer.

After that, we have the showdown. All of the players who haven't folded reveal their hands. This begins with the player to the left of the last player to call. Players use a combination of their pocket cards and the community cards to form a five card poker hand.

Once you understand the game's basic structure, you can play Texas hold 'em and even some of its variants. Texas Holdem is an easy game to learn, just difficult to master. The "mastering" part is the costly part, requiring study and practice. This website offers lots of articles and tools to get you started on the studying. You can practice all you want for free in online poker rooms.